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Travel: How to Use Google Maps Without Internet

Dayvee Sutton is a two-time Emmy Award Winning sports journalist, entertainment and lifestyle reporter, social commentator and entrepreneur. You can learn more about her at www.dayveesutton.com
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When you travel, one of the biggest frustrations is not having consistent cellphone service and internet.

You often need those things because we don't walk around with big, physical paper maps anymore.

To use Google Maps offline, type “OK Maps,” and the visible area will save for future access.

First, you'll need to install the update. The iOS version is now at 3.0, whileAndroid is at 8.0. Android users who aren't seeing the update right away should keep checking back. Google likes to slowly release Android updates.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Once you have the updated version, launch the app and tap on the profile icon located next to the search bar. Then scroll to the bottom of the page.

Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

There'll you'll find a new section dedicated solely to offline maps. You have two methods for saving a section for offline use. The first is here in the settings, or by typing "OK Maps" into the search bar at any time when viewing a map.

After activating the save dialog, you're able to zoom in and out of an area and save it to your device. If the area is too large, you'll be asked to zoom in, name the area, and save it.

Keep in mind that any saved maps will only remain on your device for 30 days. Presumably, after that the app will purge a saved map to clear up space on your device.